Each year hospital-acquired infections sicken 1.7 million patients and kill another 99,000. To improve these statistics, hospital staff members across the country are taking action. At Pacific Hospital in Long Beach, California, only dangerous bacteria are targeted. Hospital staff feed patients yogurt to keep digestive bacteria balanced, bathe patients with soap designed to maintain skin's natural pH and use antibiotics only when necessary.
Another bright spot in the infection control fight is the checklist designed by Dr. Peter Pronovost from Johns Hopkins University and Hospitals. Pronovost's checklist protocol is aimed at reducing infections when inserting a central venous catheter. According to his checklist doctors should:
- Wash their hands with soap
- Clean the patient's skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic
- Put sterile drapes over the entire patient
- Wear a sterile mask, hat, gown and gloves
- Put a sterile dressing over the catheter site
In Michigan, more than 1,700 lives and $246 million were saved in the first three years the checklist was adopted, according to the state hospital association. Other hospitals across the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Peru are adopting the checklist. To read more about how hospitals are preventing infection, click here.
Photo Credit: @rild
A safety initiative to reduce bloodstream infections in intensive
care units was implemented in 30 states this past February. The program could save an estimated $3 billion dollars and 30,000 lives on an annual basis. The program has also been launched globally in Spain and the United Kingdom.
"We ran this program in 77 hospitals and 103 intensive care units in Michigan for 18 months, and infection rates dropped 66 percent," said Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Quality and Safety Research Group (QRSG) in a press release. "As a result, $200 million and an estimated 2,000 lives were saved. I'm confident we'll see a similar result nationwide."
The program is based on a checklist containing five important steps that should be followed when placing a central line catheter. These catheters are typically used for patients in the Intensive Care Unit to administer fluids or medications, obtain blood and directly take measurements such as central venous blood pressure. For more information on the study, read the press release
here.
Photo Credit:
Hokkey